The present invention relates to a maintainable compressor stability bleed system for use in an axial flow rotary machine such as a gas turbine engine.
Axial flow gas turbine engines include a compression section, a combustion section, and a turbine section. A flow path for working medium gases extends through these sections of the engine. In many engines, there is a primary flow path and a secondary flow path. There is also a mechanism for bleeding working medium gases from the primary flow path to the secondary flow path.
One of the difficulties in prior art gas turbine engines is that the support structure for the working medium gas bleed system did not allow it to be penetrated for maintenance access, at least not without compromising structural integrity. As a consequence, maintenance for these bleed systems required great expense and substantial downtime.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved compressor stability bleed system.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bleed system as above which can be maintained more easily.
The foregoing objects are attained by the compressor stability bleed system of the present invention.
In accordance with the present invention, an axial flow rotary machine with a compressor bleed system is provided. The axial flow rotary machine broadly comprises a primary flow path for a working medium, a secondary flow path for the working medium, a bleed system for allowing a bleed portion of the working medium flowing in the primary flow path to be delivered to the secondary flow path, a support structure for the bleed system located radially inboard of the bleed system, and panels for gaining access to the bleed system. The panels are located radially outboard of the bleed system. The panels also form the inner flow wall for the primary flow path.